Pirate: I'm about to do something big!

"Mr. Ran, why do you insist that Ace and the others leave?"

The outskirts of the capital of the Kingdom of Goa, in a residential area of ​​a scrap yard.

Luffy, Sabo, and Ace returned to their cabin with their foster mother, Dadan, where Alyosha, a Marine, sat opposite them.

Although Dadan understood that Alyosha meant no harm to Luffy and his crew, she instinctively resisted when she heard that Alyosha wanted to take Ace and the others away from her, and even take them to Marine Headquarters.

Dadan was unaware of Ace's background. When Garp asked Dadan to raise Ace, he didn't tell her the truth; he simply insisted that Dadan adopt him.

But as a bandit who had redeemed himself and gone ashore, Dadan could probably guess the reason from her daily interactions with Ace.

Especially when Ace later asked others at the junkyard what they thought of the possible child if Gol D. Roger had one, she became suspicious.

"Ms. Dadan, I think you now understand why Mr. Garp wanted you to raise Ace, right?"

"certainly."

"Dadan, you?"

"Ace, children shouldn't think they can see through adults, and adults shouldn't think they can see through children easily. Ms. Dadan is the mother who raised you. How could she not know whose child you are? But now, you are her child, there is no doubt about that."

Ace was speechless.

Alyosha then steered the conversation back to the main topic.

"Ms. Dadan, I understand your concerns, but as you've seen, Ace, Luffy, and Sabo will all grow up and choose to sail the seas. You can't protect them forever, and the world will eventually know about Ace's parentage. I have no intention of hurting Ace, nor do I believe he should bear guilt that isn't his just because he's someone else's child."

But they all need to learn how to protect themselves. The junkyard is a good place, but not enough to train these three little guys into real strongmen.

"And I didn't say I necessarily had to train them to be Marines, but Ace needs a better environment to understand what kind of life he should lead as Roger's son. I think I can help with that, which is also what Mr. Garp wants to see."

"I...I understand perfectly what Mr. Ran means, but...but..."

Dadan understood what Alyosha was saying, but she couldn't bring herself to separate a mother from her child.

Luffy, who had been picking his nose the whole time, suddenly spoke up, "Ace is Ace, isn't he? Why does he have to become what others want him to be? Damn it, I don't want to be a Marine! I want to go on an adventure!"

"Luffy! You shut up, you brat!"

Dadan, Luffy's foster mother, delivers a loving punch to his face.

But Luffy's words surprised Alyosha, who couldn't help but laugh out loud.

"Yes, Ace is Ace. What kind of person he wants to become is up to Ace himself. Luffy, you, Ace, and Sabo are brothers, right?"

"That's right, the three of us are going to set sail and become the freest men on the sea!"

"Luffy, remember this: from now on, you and Sabo must protect Ace. Ace is Ace, your older brother. His name is Porgas Ace, that's all. Anyone who asks you, including me and Mr. Garp, will answer the same thing. Got it?"

"Why should I listen to you, a navy officer?"

"Because if you don't answer like this, Ace will die~"

It must be said that Alyosha was indeed quite skilled at educating children.

When Alyosha said that Ace would die, Luffy stopped picking his nose, looked at Ace, and then pounced on him, tears and snot streaming down his face.

"No, I don't want Ace to die! Ace's name will be Porcas Ace!"

"Let go of me, Luffy! Your snot is all over my clothes!"

"I will remember that, Mr. Ran."

Compared to Luffy's antics, the equally precocious Sabo understood why Alyosha said that and seriously agreed.

Alyosha nodded in satisfaction.

As expected, the illusion he created specifically for Ace last night was effective. At least for Luffy, who is only ten years old at the time, he has already seen what death is.

Alyosha used the threat of Ace's death to provoke Luffy, making Luffy realize the seriousness of Alyosha's words.

He naturally seized the opportunity to pursue and use this to control Luffy.

"So, Luffy, could you do me a favor and come with me to Marine Headquarters to protect Ace?"

"Can I still go on an adventure at sea? I don't want to be a marine; I want to be the freest man on the high seas."

"Of course, I didn't say I wanted you to become marines. I'm just asking you to help me protect Ace. And I'll also teach you how to adventure at sea."

"real?"

"real."

Alyosha didn't utter a single lie and easily got Luffy under his control.

Having grasped the psychology of the three little ones, when Alyosha looked at Dadan again, Dadan no longer insisted on keeping Ace behind.

"Mr. Ran, if that's the case, please make sure you protect Ace."

"Of course, I swear on my life, and the three of them will also have holidays to come back and see you, their mother. Don't worry, I won't keep them tied to headquarters. They're not old enough to go on official sea adventures yet."

"Then I'll leave it to you, Mr. Ran!"

Alyosha accepted Dadan's bow, a promise he made to his mother, Dadan.

After Dadan accepted Alyosha's request to take the three kids back to the Marine Headquarters for re-education, the three kids naturally became Alyosha's students. They traveled light, each carrying their own luggage with a water pipe, and arrived at Windmill Village.

Dadan also saw them off all the way.

Upon arriving at Windmill Village, Shanks, who was packing his luggage to leave, also saw the three little ones and Dadan following behind Alyosha and immediately realized that Alyosha had already won them over.

Shanks, not showing much surprise, walked up to Alyosha and teased, "How despicable, Mr. Shanks."

"I was merely appealing to their emotions and reasoning with them. So, Mr. Shanks, shouldn't you also say a proper goodbye to Luffy and Ace?"

"certainly."

Shanks shrugged, walked past Alyosha to Luffy, and handed Luffy the straw hat he had inherited from Roger.

It wasn't that he didn't want to give it to Ace right now, but Shanks, who hadn't yet revealed his identity to Ace, was a stranger in Ace's eyes.

"Luffy, could you hold this straw hat for me? I have something to discuss with Mr. Ran."

"no problem!"

-----------------

Alyosha stood in front, watching Shanks hand the straw hat to Luffy before walking towards him.

The two walked side by side on the road in the windmill village, and the next moment...

Alyosha and Shanks drew their weapons at the same time, and before anyone could react, they began their first exchange of blows.

The wooden sword, coated in Armament Haki, clashed with the long sword, producing a piercing metallic clang.

The ear-piercing buzzing, mixed with the aura of the two, swept through the entire Windmill Village, making everyone who witnessed Alyosha and Shanks suddenly drawing their swords against each other feel uncomfortable.

Taking advantage of the collision of their first probing attacks, the two leaped from Windmill Village, traversing an exaggerated distance in the air before landing gracefully on the sea to confront each other.

Alyosha stood on the sea, Shanks stood on the reef.

"What a unique farewell ceremony, Mr. Shanks."

"We have to let Luffy see how the strong fight on the high seas, don't you think, Mr. Ran?"

"That's true, but why me?"

"Everyone calls me the future fourth Emperor of the Sea, and you are a Commodore who is considered by the Navy to be on par with Vice Admirals Akainu, Kizaru, and Aokiji, and who can compete for the position of Admiral."

"I have a good reason to want to know who is stronger between the two of us who haven't eaten a Devil Fruit."

"Me too, so Mr. Ran, are you sure you don't want to get a different knife?"

"Let's talk after you've cut this wooden sword of mine."

Alyosha chuckled, and just then Luffy and Makino appeared at the port.

Seeing that the last two audience members were in place, Alyosha launched the first attack.

Shave - Instant Step!

Alyosha vanished from the sea where he stood, leaving only ripples on the surface. The next second, Alyosha's figure appeared behind Shanks.

The wooden sword, coated in Armament Haki, slammed down hard against Shanks' left arm.

clang!

The wooden swords and iron swords, each coated with a layer of armor paint, clashed against each other, producing an unpleasant, piercing buzzing sound.

The calm sea churned as the two clashed, with rolling waves crashing against the pirate ships and warships anchored in the harbor, making the pirates and marines watching the battle on deck unsteady on their feet.

The rocks beneath Alyosha and Shanks' feet shattered during their first clash, sending pebbles flying everywhere.

After their first attack failed, the two distanced themselves from each other.

Alyosha, having mastered the Six Styles and possessing the special Observation Haki that allows him to control life energy, directly used Moonwalk: Flying Dance to float in the air.

Although Shanks cannot fly, the principles of the Six Powers are easy for any strong seafarer to understand.

Shanks, who had mastered Moonwalk without a teacher, used flying pebbles as stepping stones to move through the air and attack Alyosha.

Swords clashed, the air groaned, and the waves surged.

Even a casual, missed strike from either of them could create a giant wave on the sea surface, only to crumble into a cloud of mist during their clash.

Alyosha was dealing with Shanks's fierce attacks, while Shanks was also on guard against Alyosha's counterattacks.

The Observation Haki that allows one to predict the opponent's next attack is now useless against both of them.

When both sides can see through each other's moves, it becomes the most basic numerical values ​​for both sides.

In terms of mastery of Armament Haki, Shanks is not much worse than Alyosha.

To think that you can decide the outcome of a battle using Armament Haki is wishful thinking.

Therefore, it all comes down to who can outdo whom in utilizing their respective mechanisms.

Paper painting·afterimage!

Alyosha made the first move, combining the life energy present in the atmosphere, he transformed the paper drawings used in the Six Styles to assist in Observation Haki in dodging enemy attacks into vivid, indistinguishable afterimages.

The moment Alyosha created multiple afterimages, Shanks' attack was exposed.

Observation Haki can indeed predict an opponent's attack and allow for early evasion, but if the opponent doesn't attack you, or unleashes a wide-range attack, then Observation Haki becomes somewhat useless.

Shanks slashed at Alyosha's afterimage, but the blow missed.

While looking astonished, he also saw multiple afterimages of Alyosha surrounding him.

What he found even more absurd was that, in his perception of Observation Haki, these afterimages were actually real.

Without any hesitation, Shanks executed a large loop attack as his slash missed its mark.

A circular slash spread out, obliterating all the remaining images of Alyosha around him.

However, at the same time, it also caused the surrounding area to be filled with water vapor.

At that moment, Shanks also saw Alyosha's true form standing on the sea, using a wooden sword covered in Armament Haki as a pen, with water droplets covering the blade, drawing circles on Shanks who was suspended in the air.

As Alyosha moved, water vapor condensed into bubbles, which, under Alyosha's control, surrounded Shanks.

The bubbles gathered and formed a rectangular column of water, enveloping Shanks within it.

Just like Alyosha used this move to subdue the fishman Tiger before.

Fishman Karate: Water Coffin!

The only difference is that this time, Alyosha made one more move.

As Shanks held his breath inside the water coffin, Alyosha threw his wooden sword, coated in Armament Haki, which pierced the surface of the coffin in front of him.

The black Armament Haki covering the wooden sword blade, like ink, seeped into the water coffin.

And at an extremely fast speed, the water coffin, which was more than ten meters long and several meters wide, was blackened.

This is the complete form of Alyosha's Fishman Karate: Water Coffin, the Black Coffin!

By applying Armament Haki to the seawater for secondary reinforcement, and by squeezing the black coffin, combined with the increased damage from Armament Haki, it can inflict secondary damage on the person inside the coffin.

When it comes to targeting Devil Fruit users, the black coffin covered in Armament Haki is a tried-and-true method.

Although it's unknown how this will affect Shanks, who isn't a Devil Fruit user, it's something Alyosha is hoping for.

The opponent possesses Conqueror's Haki and is capable of combining it with Armament Haki to unleash even more powerful attacks.

Alyosha, who currently lacks Conqueror's Haki, is eager to know just how powerful the so-called Conqueror's Haki Entanglement technique is.

As Alyosha used Armament Haki to turn the water coffin that trapped Shanks into a black coffin, he completely isolated it from the outside world.

With a wave of his hand, the wooden sword flew back into his hand.

Alyosha waved the water off his wooden sword, stepped onto the water's surface, and was about to turn and leave.

Click!

A crisp cracking sound rang out behind Alyosha.

Alyosha turned around and saw that the black coffin was covered with cracks, and Shanks' voice came from inside the coffin.

"Gods, beware!"

This is Shanks' signature move, learned from the former Pirate King Roger.

A long-range shockwave released by compressed air from a sword blade wrapped in Conqueror's Haki and Armament Haki.

Although it's the same as a regular slash, the shockwave is infused with both Conqueror's Haki and Armament Haki, giving this move the ability to ignore defense and deal percentage-based true damage directly to Devil Fruit users.

However, the extent of its power depends on how well the individual has honed their Conqueror's Haki.

Good timing!

God may avoid me, but I will not!

Alyosha was waiting for Shanks to use this move.

He also gripped his sword with both hands and unleashed his own attack against Shanks's divine evasion.

The wooden sword, coated in Armament Haki, also compressed the air, generating a black, blade-shaped shockwave from Alyosha's strike.

Collision with Shanks's divine evasion as he cleaved the black coffin horizontally.

This move is called Crescent Moon Sky Slash!